We don’t usually review cars here on Babble, but when given the opportunity to test-drive a new family friendly French SUV for the weekend, I can’t say I hesitated in retiring my banged-up old Subaru for a few days.
So what car is it? We test-drove the Renault Koleos 4 x4 Petrol CVT Dynamique. It’s a crossover 4WD which was awarded ‘Best 4WD Under $40,000′ by Drive last year, beating out the Nissan X-Trail, the Subaru Forester (my current car) and the VW Tiguan.
While the car has stylish French looks, sleeker than many of the boxy 4WDs out there, the car was engineered by Nissan and built in South Korea.
First impressions
Although I test drove the standard Dynamiqe model (the top-of-the-range Privilege features leather seats and a Bose sound system) it’s still an attractive, modern-looking vehicle, inside and out.
From the outside, it’s angular and approachable in size. Unlocking the car with the fancy credit-card styled automatic key, you’ll find a roomy and sporty grey cabin with high-set seats offering good visibility of the road ahead. There are loads of cool little features, like a pop-down mirror to view the kids in the back, a chilled glovebox for snacks on the road and under-floor compartments to conceal valuables when the car is parked.
Perhaps the biggest hit for this fair-skinned family are the retractable sunshades fitted to both rear windows. There are aeroplane style tables on the seat backs to allow children to colour-in etc while travelling, however these are are fitted too low to use with an infant/toddler car seat.
Start ‘er up
Unlike any car I’ve driven before is the ignition, operated by the credit-card key inserted into a slot in the central console as well as a start/stop button. It’s very easy to use and certainly novel, although storage of the key is a bit tricky as you can’t throw it on to a regular key ring.
Although initially nervous to drive a car that felt larger than my current, compact SUV, handling was no problem in the tiny inner-city back streets near the Babble offices. The automatic parking brake made driving even easier.
Venturing further afield
Unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to take the car off-road and test its 4WD capabilities, however I was able to pack the family in the car and head off for a suburban picnic.
Installing the child car seat to the boot tethers was extremely easy, and didn’t take up any boot space as can happen in sedans. There was plenty of room for a stroller, large nappy bag, picnic bag, two blankets and several bags of clothes to be dropped off at an opportunity shop en route.
My toddler enjoyed the extra visibility in his seat, higher than he usually experiences, although I did worry about rear visibility while at the picnic grounds — you probably couldn’t see a child younger than six walk behind the vehicle. (The Privilige model comes with front and rear parking sensors).
We all enjoyed the excellent stereo system with iPod jack, complimented by the very quiet engine. Suspension, however, was not so quiet and smooth and in my heavily pregnant state I did wince a few times when travelling over speed bumps.
Bottom line
The Koleos 4 x4 Petrol CVT Dynamique retails for $AU36,990. It’s available in nine different colours and with optional extras like a tent.
While it wasn’t the smoothest drive ever, the high safety rating, classy looks and multitude of convenient features make it a crossover worth considering.
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